Ideas to add body to fine limp

I agree with those who say don't use conditioner. Since cancer, plus aging, my hair became really flyaway and thinning.
My hairdresser told me never to use conditioner and it's definitely a lot more bouncy and (naturally) curly again.

I have fine hair which has always been a problem. Now I am aged it is much worse. The only solution is regular, loose, body perms. You could need three to four a year if your hair still grows fast. The hairdresser must be told not to risk a frizzy result!. As you age, cut your hair shorter. Only the lucky women who retain thick hair to the end can get the effects the rest of us envy. Perms are worth the money. My home hairdresser is very careful and banned bleached streaks after about 70 as she says fine hair can only tolerate so much chemical treatment.I am to be allowed a wash out colour shampoo as I shall never go white, just a dreary beige.

Dove shampoo in burgundy bottle Lee Stafford mousse and heated rollers

I am wary of perms Alison. Don't the chemicals damage fine hair even more, especially several times a year?

Moroccan oil texture spray is very good.

Baby fine flat lifeless hair here too.

After trying every expensive brand of shampoo and product, I find the cheaper things work better for me.

I find mine looks thicker and fuller the more I abuse it!...so swimming in sea water and chlorinated indoor pools (swells the hair shaft?), though it’s not a realistic solution for me to suggest anyone else spend hours in the pool for thicker hair!

Hairdresser suggested thin foil highlights as they similarly swell the hair shaft so it looks thicker and with more body.

For years I have had success sticking with a super cheap product, normally around £1 in those high street shops, it’s a quality German brand - will use it forever;
Schwartzkopft Gliss Hair Repair Liquid Silk - shake before using and just a single spray on the ends, a single bottle lasts a year. Wouldn’t be without this, also get lots of comments about shiny hair.

Also echo the recommendation for biotin supplements, but longer term, not a quick fix.

Never had dandruff, but accidentally found that the cheapest supermarket dandruff shampoos work well to make my hair look and feel thicker too.

Reading all the replies with interest and more ideas for me to try.

I have a short ish bob that's cut in at the back. I just use any shampoo and conditioner, but use products to add thickness. Use a thickening mouse on towel dried hair. When dry use VO5 volumising powder. A light dusting at the crown especially works wonders believe me. I also use a little wax (soften between fingertips first) to tame fly away hair. Finish with a spritz of firm hold hair spray, Btw I too had a lumpectomy, and was bald after chemotherapy. I'm also still taking Anastrozole. We've beaten cancer, so we can do anything x

A private clinic used a product on my daughter's hair called " Biolustré Revive Treatment" which I now use, once a week or so, for my own extremely fine hair . N.B. You need to follow instructions carefully as the product has to dry on the hair which is then so stiff that is apt to break if "manhandled". It‘s ok once rinsed off.
Try it and I hope it helps.

Linco Beer shampoo! Absolutely loved it - what a shame it’s gone. Is there anything like it on the market now?
( It’s just occurred to me that it made our hair so nice and shiny in the Sixties - when we of course were young and had lovely shiny hair anyway!)

You could just rinse it in beer That is what we did before someone with an enrepreneurial mind marketed a beer shampoo.

Before losing all my hair through chemo last year I had been using Watermans Grow More shampoo, conditioner and spray in lotion because my hair had become very think with an underactive thyroid . It worked very well and my hair became thicker. Now my hair is growing again, all be it with very tight chemo curls at the moment, I am starting to use it again.

I have fine hair. I have an all one length bob. Currently I have it shaped into the neck at the back and graduated to chin length at the front. Sometimes I grow it to almost shoulder length. But I always, always, dry it as advised by someone years ago, this method makes my hair look a lot more voluminous (as it adds body at the roots) than it actually is, and also looks glossy- head upside down, blast the hair until almost dry and then raise your head and finish off blow drying with a brush and hairdryer just to turn the ends under, sometimes dry it completely with head down and then raise head and use a hot brush on the ends to turn them under.

Try washing your hair fewer times a week. If it gets oily, use dry shampoo. I often use dry shampoo and it does add body to my hair.

I hope you are recovering well. Try reverse washing, condition and then shampoo. You get all the conditioning without the heavy residue and much shinier hair with less frizz x

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Having made a note of all the useful tips on this thread I thought I’d give an update on my progress. I have two lots of thickening shampoo: Elvive and Percy & Reed, to finish before I can justify spending any more on shampoo. I have tried washing my hair less frequently but the best effect seems to be using less conditioner, I am down to just a dot now. I am wary of going without conditioner completely as I used to get a lot of static electricity in my hair. I did buy two products which were on special offer in Boots - John Frieda Luxurious Volume Perfectly Full Mousse and Fine To Full Blow Out Spray. The spray was by far the best, I used it last night for the first time, just a small amount, but it made my hair fuller without the tacky feel that other mousses and Bed Head products gave it or the stiffness that other sprays have given it. The fullness has lasted this morning despite the wind and rain so I will continue with that product. I will also try conditioning before washing next time I wash my hair. I did read this tip in a magazine a couple of years ago but when I mentioned it at the hairdressers none of them had heard about that method so I didn’t try it then. I will also try a product that gets rid of product build up but as I have my hair coloured I will ask for advice from the hairdresser first as a few years ago a hairdresser I used to go to recommended a hair mask product which completely stripped my hair of colour. I haven’t tried any supplements yet but will probably get some when we go to the USA in May as supplements and beauty products are much cheaper over there. Thanks again for all the useful information.